Careers in Geology – Becoming a Petroleum Explorationist

Stuart Strife

Being a geologist in the oil and natural gas industry is a challenging and rewarding profession, and an option that many geoscience students are unfamiliar with. But what does this type of career entail? Stuart Strife will use a real example from exploration in the Gulf of Mexico to demonstrate what you might expect in pursuing this path. You will gain an understanding of both the technical (day to day scientific pursuits) and non-technical (salary, benefits, location, lifestyle) aspects of a career in petroleum geology. Ultimately, the goal of this presentation is to provide you with something to think about as you determine what the future will look like after graduation with a degree in earth science.

Stuart Strife grew up in the central New York village of Ilion. Fortunately for him, this was two miles from the quarry that produces the finest examples of eurypterids (the State fossil) in the world and ten miles from the famous Herkimer “diamond” mines in Middleville. Stuart received BS and MS degrees in Geology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1975 and 1977, respectively. His 33 year career as a professional geologist was spent exploring for and developing oil and natural gas deposits throughout North America. He retired in 2010 as a Vice President of Exploration and Officer of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. Today he lives on Lake Champlain in northern Vermont and is enjoying relearning the geology of New York State and New England.